Ask Trader Joe's for meat without drugs

The night we rushed my 10-month-old daughter Ruby to the hospital is a night I will never forget, especially the terror of not knowing what was making her sick. It took doctors a very long week to figure out that it was Salmonella, and another two months for us to determine that it came from some ground turkey we ate.

Ruby spent 7 days in the hospital, one of 136 victims of a Salmonella outbreak last summer that led to a massive ground turkey recall. To make matters worse, that strain of Salmonella was resistant to several kinds of antibiotics, which made it more difficult to treat.

That’s why I’m urging you to sign my petition to Trader Joe’s asking them to sell only meat raised without antibiotics.

Like over 86% of Americans, I want to buy meat raised without antibiotics at my local grocery store. Big supermarket chains can play a critical role in changing the food system.

Trader Joe's is a progressive grocery store with high standards for the food they sell (and is not where the meat came from that made Ruby sick). But in my community, many people shop at Trader Joe’s for products that are good for their health and good for the environment. Help me tell my story to Trader Joe’s, and encourage them to sell only meat raised without antibiotics.

I’m grateful every day that the doctors saved Ruby’s life, but we can’t take for granted the antibiotics that allow us to successfully combat serious infections.

80% of the antibiotics sold in the US are going to farm animals--used to make them grow faster and prevent disease in crowded, unsanitary conditions. In such an environment, “superbugs” can develop-- and they can get into our food, as Ruby found out.

Whole Foods has already made the commitment to only selling meat raised without antibiotics. We need more grocery stores to step up to the plate. Tell Trader Joe’s to be a leader in saving our antibiotics and making food safer.

Letter to

Trader Joe'sDan Bane, CEO

I urge you to source and sell only meat and poultry raised without antibiotics in all your Trader Joe's stores. The widespread use of antibiotics in food animals contributes to the spread of deadly, antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs' in humans. We must preserve our antibiotics, and your leadership could begin to change the priorities for our nation's livestock producers.